Blue Jackets becoming a more confident team

Columbus' 3-2 win Sunday night gave the Blue Jackets their fifth win earlier than the last two seasons.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- After the Columbus Blue Jackets' dramatic 3-2 victory over Buffalo on Sunday night, Tyler Wright uttered words that would have been laughable not so long ago.
"We think we can win every game we play this year," Wright said.
Not one person snickered.
It may be just a passing phase, but the Blue Jackets have become a team to be reckoned with just a few months after finishing a season that was a total wreck.
Overcoming a 2-0 deficit on goals by Wright, Andrew Cassels and Derrick Walser, Columbus improved to 5-5-1-0 on the season. That may not seem like much -- just getting back to where you started -- but to a third-year franchise that had the second-worst record in the NHL last season, it was a reason to crack open the Moet.
Different from past
The Blue Jackets didn't get their fifth win a year ago until the 19th game. In their inaugural season, win No. 5 came in the 17th game. In both cases, that fifth win came after 10 losses.
The victory over the Sabres marked the latest in a season the Blue Jackets reached .500.
"It's a big win for us to get back to .500," Cassels said. "It was a good character win, especially when they got a 5-on-3 late in the third period."
Late in the game, Geoff Sanderson and Jaroslav Spacek were banished to the penalty box for two minutes, leaving Buffalo with a two-man advantage.
Defense delivers
After two years of letting their fans down in situations such as this, the Blue Jackets actually picked up the tempo. With the capacity crowd of 18,136 at Nationwide Arena roaring on every rush, goaltender Marc Denis and defenders Jean-Luc Grand-Pierre and Rostislav Klesla continually turned away scoring opportunities by the Sabres.
"It was a big win for us," said Dave King. "It is significant. We've played enough games where .500 means something."